"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
They could afford supper at the hotel, but nothing could beat supper at the Lickskillet. Not that the Belle-St. Regis Hotel dining room did not serve up the best steak in town, because they did, but for a good wholesome dinner, there was just something about the Lickskillet. It always could draw in the locals any time day or night. Though it was true that Emeline Pike who owned the place had been away on an extended honeymoon and Clara Lutz had been running the place. But Emeline was back, and Clara it appeared had stayed on.
Miss Alice Fletcher and her beau, Marshal Speed Guyer, had stepped out for supper at the cafe. Folks would assume that it was a date night for the pair, but it was not, it was what one might call a working date. They had yet to be married, but now that the best man, Pronto Pike was back with Emeline, a date would soon be set. One the pair had been wanting now for quite some time, even though he had been recuperating at the Rafter A ranch that belonged to her father and her, which had been cause for some gossip around town and that had not marred their relationship, as there was nothing done to mar it. Simple as that.
The fact of the matter was that Speed had a good deal of paperwork to get done for both the Marshal's office as well as Wood and Guyer Mining. That, of course, encompassed The Copper Queen Corporation. So it would be a busy evening, so a comfortable, enjoyable meal was in order.
Wayfarer
"So," Alice began as they rode into town, "Now that you're back in the offices, I suppose that this supper in town will turn into half the night working on papers for the county and the mining office?" the question came as no surprise.
"Yes Ma'am, a straight-up bribe for my bride-to-be's help with whatever awaits us in either office. "I doubt Charlie kept up with most of it, as a lot coming in was addressed to me, and really it's just not a deputy's duty to handle things he did not personally address." Then, he smiled at her, "And I have them holding your favorite room as well as mine. Which begs the question, have you thought a bout a date?"
"Actually I had, but you had been wounded, and everything I had planned for anything changed in that moment." She stated, "It's not your fault, Speed, and I have thought of little else besides your recovery since then, but Mister Guyer, that is about to change."
"Good. You are aware that tounges have wagged since I was moved out to the ranch." He offered. "Not that I care a hill of beans about some of the women in this town, but it has become common knowledge that we were in the house, together, unsupervised by anyone." With that, he burst out laughing. "I mean really Alice, what did people expect? Surely you and Jonah could have carried me up to my rooms above Wood and Guyer, then the rumors would have been on poor Ada Fetterman as well as you."
"I could actually care less what has been rumored about you and I. Seriously. We have done nothing inappropriate. You're still alive and my father is not in jail for killing you. Point made, reputation unchanged. And yes, Henry Speed Guyer, you will be marrying me now that you are ready to be shot again!" She shook her head, "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about Love, I know you worry, and being shot once does seem to make me far more cautious than normal. whatever normally cautious is." It was then that they arrived at the Lickskillet, stepped down, tied their horses, and stepped to the door and inside.
@Wayfarer
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
The happy couple had hardly taken their seats in the Diner, when the door opened and a figure, trussed up in Mr Pettigrew's latest attempt to recreate the Paris fashions of the 1876 season, flew in after them.
"Phew, there you are!!" this vision in lilac and cobalt blue yelped, her train and bustle nearly getting trapped in the door, her tiny parasol getting caught in the back of a chair and a foolish hat decorating her complexly coiffured bonce.
"You must be Miss Fletcher, soon to be Mrs Henry Guyer II. My name is Arabella Sumter Mudd, you will no doubt have heard of me from my great success upon the stage. No, please don't stand, but may I be seated and join you both for a few moments?" she asked, pulling back a seat with a terrible scraping noise and depositing her padded derrière on the wood before they had a chance to say yay or nay.
She didn't know if Miss Fletcher had ever been in the Diner before, so she waved a gloved hand at the door to the kitchen where Clara was no doubt putting together another customer's repast.
"Don't worry, the girl will soon be out to take your order." she informed the Marshall's intended, airily.
"... a foolish hat decorating her complexly coiffured bonce"
Clara was just taking a pie from the oven when she heard the tell-tale tinkle of the front door bell signaling no doubt more customers. By now it seemed like she had heard that bell thousands of time since that first day she worked there. Setting it down on the shelf to cool off she then went out to wait on whoever customers were there.
Well, that was indeed an odd trio? Not so much Marshal Guyer and Miss Alice Fletcher, everybody who was a local probably knew they were going together and odds were they would settle down and marry soon enough. But the third person? Arabella? Nicely dressed too. A far cry from the grim black she used to be decked out in, all ready for a funeral service.
She approached them with a forced smile, smiles did not come easily to Clara, it was just her taciturn nature.
"Good day to you all. May I take your orders or do you need a little time to study the menu?"
The menu was a chalkboard in easy view of them with both the culinary offerings and prices. Clara's printing was large and very legible.
She added, "Nice to see you again, Arabella. You are looking very refined in that fine outfit."
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"Good day to you all. May I take your orders or do you need a little time to study the menu?"
"Howdy, Clara-Ann!" chirped Arabella happily.
She added, "Nice to see you again, Arabella. You are looking very refined in that fine outfit."
The 'star' of the White Rose Theatre (actually Miss Evelyn Hardy was technically the star, but Arabella definitely had the edge on going around acting like a big star!) looked down almost in surprise at her own outlandish outfit.
"Oh! This old thing?! Just something I threw on!" she grinned and gestured to Alice "Say, Clara, have you met Miss Fletcher? We're just discussing her forthcoming nuptials with the Marshall here." she looked back to Alice. "Clara here had a wonderful wedding ceremony, didn't you Clara? I was the bridesmaid and accompanied the signing on the harmonium. Excellent choice of hymns: I remember we all sang 'We Plough the Fields and Scatter' and..." she couldn't help glance at Clara's bump "... 'What Will the Harvest Be?"
She smiled again at Alice. "Have you chosen your hymns yet, Miss Fletcher? Oh! He he. Perhaps you'd better choose your pie first!"
The happy couple hadn't even invited her to sit with them, yet she seemed to have taken over.
"You know, we haven't. The fact is, what with his being shot and all, there just hasn't been time to deal with the planning for a wedding." Alice replied. You know, there is a great deal to be done for a wedding, and then there are the copper mines, we have two you know, as well as the claims and mining business, not to mention the Marshall's duties which he is just getting back to. A hand full to say the least."
Speed stared on in disbelief at Alice's response. But he was enjoying it, never the less. It was true, there was a great deal of catching up to be done, and he was the only one to do that with any of the tasks waiting on his return. So he said; "What would you like Alice, I was thinking of the special?"
"Yes, Cara, two specials and coffees would be just fine. We seemed to have a night full ahead of us." She answered.
@Wayfarer
@Javia.
Leave it to Arabella to act like what she had was just some old thing she threw on. Not that Clara would waste breath trying to contradict the girl, she knew better. And the girl then proceeded to launch into a spiel about Clara's own wedding. Making herself the centerpiece of the topic of course, that was Arabella alright. The world revolved around her of course. Was she even hinting that she could possibly help the couple in their wedding plans? If the two were smart, they'd decline that offer.
Alice answered and brought up the copper mines. What was it with local law and both men striking it rich on silver and/or copper? Her father was obviously in the wrong career. Again Clara just nodded and smiled. Frankly, it was none of her business one way or the other.
"What would you like Alice, I was thinking of the special?" asked the marshal then.
"Yes, Clara, two specials and coffees would be just fine. We seemed to have a night full ahead of us." She answered.
"Very well, two specials coming up then. And I will bring out your coffee while you await the food," Clara nodded, then glanced at Arabella.
"So, are you having your usual order when you come here, my dear, a glass of water?" And yes, there was more than a touch of sarcasm to her tone of voice. It had not escaped her notice the couple did not give three orders but two. Arabella was not their guest at this table.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"So, are you having your usual order when you come here, my dear, a glass of water?" And yes, there was more than a touch of sarcasm to her tone of voice. It had not escaped her notice the couple did not give three orders but two. Arabella was not their guest at this table.
Arabella wasn't as well off as she looked in her fancy clothes and, well, it didn't look like the rich Marshall was going to offer to buy her anything, and she was saving every penny she could to save toward her and Miriam going to New York, so she simply nodded at Clara's rather tart suggestion.
"Yes please" she told the pregnant girl, then gave Alice a smile "I have to watch my figure, Miss Fletcher, what with being on the stage" she explained. That was a laugh, Clara had seen her in the bath and knew that underneath all that clothing and padding, Arabella had all the womanly attributes of a twig. "I have to confide, in my next role, as Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, my costume doesn't leave too much to the imagination. I sure hope the Marshall here doesn't have to come and arrest me for affronting Public sensibilities."
This was prophetic, considering what would happen in a few years' time in New York.
Arabella waited until Clara was gone to get the order before leaning in and confiding: "You'll have to excuse Clara-Ann, she's still in shock after witnessing those varmints burn down her father's barn. She was actually there when it happened, and even shot one of them: quite a feat of arms for a woman, but hardly the sort of activity that a lady should be undertaking when she is... enceinte." She sat back and basked in having used a word that she had just learned from Mr Darling, who had been giving her lessons in elocution and diction. It beat her usual description of Clara as 'having got her roof rusted'.
"Anyway, the whole community's getting together to help raise a new barn. Well, not me, of course, my theatrical commitments do not permit it, but my many, many friends are all... oh oh, she's coming back!" She turned and beamed at Clara "I was just telling Marshall Guyer and Miss Fletcher about the barn raising."
@[Flip]
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"Excuse me? I've not been in town for the past week and a half, almost two. Fact is I'm just getting back to full-time." He said, "His farm was hit? Aurelisa's place? For God's sakes, this is the first I've heard of it. No one came out, Charlie's been out there I hope. And I haven't seen him either. Do they know who did it?" He already had some ideas along that line, but it was not his place to put ideas in anyone's head, especially Arabella Mudds.
"She was actually there when it happened, and even shot one of them: quite a feat of arms for a woman, but hardly the sort of activity that a lady should be undertaking when she is... enceinte."
"I should say so. Is there a body? did anyone see a face, or a brand on a horse, anything that might give us a lead?" A flood of questions.
But answers were scarce as she went on;
"Anyway, the whole community's getting together to help raise a new barn. Well, not me, of course, my theatrical commitments do not permit it, but my many, many friends are all... oh oh, she's coming back!" She turned and beamed at Clara "I was just telling Marshall Guyer and Miss Fletcher about the barn raising."
@Wayfarer
@Javia.
Well the way Arabella went on about Jacob and her's wedding, a hastily arranged one if there ever was, that was certainly not how Clara remembered it. But never try to derail what was Arabella's oft inaccurate train of thought.Clara just nodded along in agreement hoping for a chance to get a word in edgewise. With Ara that could often be a long wait. She decided to go get the coffee and bring that back out.
Upon her return carrying a small tray with two hot coffees and one glass of water, Arabella spoke up first (of course).
She turned and beamed at Clara "I was just telling Marshall Guyer and Miss Fletcher about the barn raising."
"Yes, the one good thing that came out of that dreadful incident. Here you go," Clara set the tray down and placed the appropriate drinks in front of each of the trio.
"Father is truly humbled by the support he is being given by the community," she addressed the marshal and his bride to be.